ZAGREB, February 25, 2019 - Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday met Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah IV Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on the margins of a summit meeting of the Arab League and the European Union in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Prime Minister Plenković was quoted in a press release issued by the government as saying that Croatia would like to boost economic and trade cooperation with Kuwait, to which Zagreb accredited its ambassador a year and a half ago.

In 2017, the volume of trade between Croatia and the Arab League reached a billion euro.

Plenković says that this can be perceived as an opportunity for Croatian companies specialised in construction and the defence industry. The government supports the efforts to enable them to do business in those countries, the premier said.

Attending the talks between Plenković and the Kuwaiti emir were also the ministers of finance and foreign affairs of that Gulf country.

Croatia and the EU wish to strengthen multilateral institutions and organisations and an international order founded on international law, which envisages the rule of law and human rights at national level, and this is the message the EU wishes to send its Arabian partners, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday.

"The position of Croatia and all of the European Union is very clear. We wish to strengthen bilateral institutions and organisations. We want the international order to be founded on international law, so that not only international law but the rule of law and human rights are respected at national level. These are the messages of nearly all European officials. They are part of what we are sending as the values of our foreign policy activities. Naturally, there's room for progress in this part of the world and all leaders of the partner countries realise that," Plenković said ahead of the second day of an EU-League of Arab States summit.

With this meeting, the EU wishes to highlight "the high dose of partnership and respect" in the relations with the Arab world, the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, Plenković said.

This partnership is expected to help boost economic cooperation and trade relations as well as prevent illegal migration, while enabling the EU to resolve key security issues with regard to Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya.

"By arriving at the highest level, the EU also wished to send a message of partnership, as resolving our internal security issues is very much related to the good cooperation, partnership and dialogue which we must have, notably with the countries of North Africa," said Plenković.

The cooperation with those countries has significantly reduced illegal migration. They are transit countries for migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and some have become destination countries, he added.

"That's why it's important to focus our foreign policy activities and development aid, so as to build the institutions of the states in this part of the world so that they, with their strength, economic development and eradication of poverty, can prevent radicalisation and then not just illegal migration, but also terrorist activities," Plenković said.

More news on the relations between Croatia and Kuwait can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 21, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday the government was determined to embark as of the next school year on a "frontal application" of the education reform and new curricula in every subject, adding that the goal was to have new generations know the values of the Homeland War, take clear positions on the Holocaust, and condemn the Ustasha regime.

Speaking at a government meeting, he said 37 curricula had been agreed, adopted and published, and that the two remaining would be agreed too.

Speaking of the history curriculum, Plenković said the government's goal was to have the education system aligned to the market's real needs. At the same time, the standard of the knowledge and the information people get through education must very clearly instil in children the key identity issues, the key value system, based on historical facts, and explain Croatian history, language and culture, he added.

"That's our political goal - that new generations know what the values of the Homeland War are, and also that they take clear positions on matters such as the Holocaust, condemn those regimes that were the worst during World War Two. We have no dilemmas about the Ustasha regime."

Speaking of a draft history curriculum that underwent public consultation and was fine-tuned, the prime minister said it did not downplay the Holocaust.

He said that after Education Minister Blaženka Divjak put the curriculum back into public consultation, the government would like "two or three more authorities from the academic community to be consulted so that a draft can be agreed on which we can reach a broad expert and social consensus."

Speaking to the press before the cabinet meeting, Divjak reiterated that she decided to put the history curriculum back into public consultation because the draft she received from the expert working group downplayed the Holocaust.

She called on everyone to participate in the consultation without ideological disputes so that the most important historical events could be presented appropriately and students could understand them and take a position, for example by condemning the Holocaust.

More news on the curriculum reform can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 15, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in the parliament on Thursday that he supported Defence Minister Damir Krstičević because all activities regarding the failed purchase of F-16 fighter jets from Israel had been conducted transparently and in line with the law, recalling that one of the reasons why the purchase of the military aircraft had been launched was the failed overhaul of MiG21 jets in 2013, when the government was led by the Social Democrats (SDP).

"The government rejects all allegations from the motion (for a debate on the failed jet purchase) as unfounded and incorrect and proposes that the parliament reject the conclusions in the motion," Plenković said during a debate on the SDP-sponsored motion. He said that no such motion had been filed over the failed overhaul of MiG jets even though the case was subject to legal proceedings in Croatia and Ukraine.

Plenković dismissed allegations that the failed jet purchase had jeopardised Croatia's security and position in the international community, adding that the allegations were based on superficial assessments, lack of understanding of the subject matter and political opportunism.

"As regards the US approval for the Third-Party Transfer (TPT), I want to stress that the country owning and selling military equipment, in this case Israel, is responsible for obtaining approval for TPT. Croatia was aware of the need to obtain approval for TPT from the start of the procurement procedure, but it is impossible to entirely eliminate all risks in any process," he said, explaining the chronology of the failed jet purchase.

The public was informed of every step of the procurement procedure, including difficulties in obtaining approval for TPT, he added.

"It is not true that Croatia's international reputation has been compromised. Both the US and Israel have stressed that they want to continue developing ally and partner relations with Croatia and deepen their defence cooperation with Croatia. Israel has stated publicly that Croatia demonstrated professionalism and sound judgement at every stage of the process and could not impact the outcome of the process and therefore could not be considered responsible, which is what the US has confirmed as well," said the prime minister.

He reiterated that there was also no harm for the state budget. "We will learn lessons from this, but we are determined to modernise the Air Force, and based on analyses and preparations, we will embark on new activities towards that goal. The government backs Defence Minister Krstičević," Plenković said.

Krstičević did not address MPs, but Plenkovic's address drew numerous reactions.

"You have reduced one of the most important strategic decisions to a cheap PR exercise and crisis communication. With your non-transparency, you have given new arguments to opponents of the plan to purchase combat aircraft and thus jeopardised the future of the Croatian Air Force and national security. How can one trust your vision if one day you want more used aircraft and the next day you want fewer new aircraft. You are no better than those who think that the Croatian skies should be given over to Italians and Hungarians," said Nikola Grmoja of the opposition MOST party.

HRAST MP Hrvoje Zekanović said that Defence Minister Damir Krstičević had done a good job, while the prime minister and the president had failed. Citing military analysts, he said that NATO's strategy did not foresee Croatia having its own combat aircraft. "You did not do your lobbying of President Trump," he said.

"Neither you nor these people from MOST will ever be in a position to decide anything that concerns the government, either the development of the Air Force or the conduct of the foreign policy. These are nothing but the dreams of the people who use these issues to attract public attention, without providing any arguments," Plenković replied.

More news on the failed jet purchase can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 2, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that no guarantees had been sought during the planned purchase of Israeli F-16 jets that eventually fell through as that type of procurement did not require guarantees, announcing that in the next attempt to buy military aircraft emphasis would be put on the inter-departmental nature of the process.

"This was a government-to-government process in which guarantees are not sought," Plenković said in an interview with Nova TV. He confirmed that the government would launch a new process to buy new military aircraft and that in that process, its interdepartmental nature would be stressed.

The prime minister said that a detailed analysis into why the purchase of Israeli fighter jets had failed was still under way but that he believed "we have arrived at the right conclusion as to why it happened" and that the conclusion would be presented during a parliamentary debate on the matter to be held soon.

Plenković stressed that Israel had undertaken in writing to secure permission for the Third Party Transfer (TPT) whereby the USA allows the sale of weapons originally made in the USA.

"Also, talks at the State Department and the Department of Defence gave us reason to conclude that the transfer would be approved," he stressed.

Plenković concluded by saying that Croatia had excellent relations with both Israel and the USA and would continue having such relations in the future as well.

More news on the procurement of F-16 jets can be found in the Politics section.

Ivica Todorić, the former Agrokor boss, thinks that the largest Croatian company, which once lay in his very hands, was destroyed by politics, and not a bad economic policy.

As VLM/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 1st of February, 2019, Ivica Todorić, now living back in Croatia following his return from the British capital, in which he spent one year passing through London courts and attempting to fight his cause, decided to receive a television crew from Slovenia in his home and comment on the purchase of Mercator by the then enfeebled Agrokor, as well as his view on what exactly went wrong.

At first, he made sure to point out that nobody loves Mercator as he does, and he honestly believed that Mercator's takeover was going to equal success for the Slovenian company, considering it a move which gave it the foundation it needed for its future development.

Asked if Agrokor would have survived if he hadn't purchased Mercator, he replied that everyone is constantly talking about some sort of debt, but Agrokor never had big any debts.

''I mean, they were large [debts] but they weren't in amounts that were not able to be handled," noted the ex Agrokor boss.

As stated, Ivica Todorić thinks that the largest Croatian company has been destroyed politics, not a bad economic policy.

Questions about life after his flight to London and his eventual return to Croatia were met with open answers. ''It isn't easy for me, I'm dependent on the help of friends,'' he added that they helped them collect the bail money needed to leave Remetinec prison. He speaks of having living costs that aren't particularly easy to cope with, a situation one could never have expected Ivica Todorić, who once graced the glossy pages of Forbes, to ever find himself in.

Although he is currently living in a huge property of 55,000 square metres, he made sure to justify it by emphasising the fact that that particular estate is divided up into what belongs to four families.

''This is my only piece of property. My part is worth about six million euros. I'm not trying to say that this isn't much, but I was once the richest man in an area consisting of 200 million people,''

When asked about the background of court proceedings, he replied that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Croatian Government were behind it. He also announced his planned entry into politics.

''We'll set up a new party. I believe we'll do well and that we'll win a parliamentary majority,'' he stated.

In just five days, Ivica Todorić collected a million euros for his release from Remetinec prison.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated politics and lifestyle pages.

Click here for the original article by VLM on Poslovni Dnevnik

ZAGREB, January 31, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in the coastal town of Ploče on Thursday that the government was close to completing an analysis into why the planned purchase of F-16 fighter jets from Israel had failed, adding that he believed the parliament, too, would discuss the matter.

The important thing is that this did not do any harm to our relations with the USA or Israel, cooperation in the field of defence with those two countries will continue, and cooperation with Israel will continue in the business sector as well, Plenković said during a visit to the local army barracks.

"The important thing is that our intentions were good, and we will present our impression as to why the deal did not happen during a parliamentary debate," the prime minister told reporters. "A lot of information is being published. The only relevant thing is that Israel formally undertook to obtain permission for the transfer of the jets to the third party, in this case Croatia. The deal did not happen under the terms that were specified in the tender. We will learn lessons from this case and move on," Plenković said.

Plenković expressed satisfaction that army troops had been stationed also in Ploče at Defence Minister Damir Krstičević's proposal. That is good in terms of security and in terms of the army's contribution to civil institutions in preventing natural disasters, the PM said.

Minister Krstičević, who accompanied Plenković, called for a thorough and responsible analysis of the chronology of the process of preparation and implementation of the purchase of military aircraft from Israel, as well as for clearing up the situation in a calm discussion, using arguments.

"The government tried to resolve the issue. We will analyse the process, an agreement was signed, there is no financial damage. Croatia asked all the necessary questions. You can see various documents being published, proving that we received all the necessary guarantees," said Krstičević.

"In a process that is very complex, there is no harder thing than buying a multipurpose fighter jet. We will analyse everything regarding the process and have the matter discussed by the parliament. There are a lot of documents, challenges and work to be done," said the minister.

Krstičević and Plenković visited the barracks of the 116th Croatian Army Brigade in Ploce, which was opened in 2018 and is used by a newly-established Croatian Navy unit, a seaborne company.

More news on the failed fighter jet purchase can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 29, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that the government "has an idea" why the purchase of the Israeli F-16 Barak fighter jets fell through, adding that no new steps would be taken regarding the acquisition of new planes until the entire case is thoroughly analysed.

Plenković said that at a meeting with US Ambassador to Croatia Robert Kohorst, held earlier in the day, he did not ask why the sale of the jets fell through because there was no need for that.

"I did not need to ask him. As you know, we are thoroughly analysing the entire process and after our talks with the Israeli side and consultations with the Americans we have a pretty good idea why this has happened," the prime minister said, adding that the analysis, that was still being conducted, would clarify what happened. He said the analysis would be completed in the coming weeks and until then no new steps aimed at acquiring fighter jets would be launched.

Earlier on Monday, Plenković held talks with Ambassador Kohorst who then told the press that he gave a document to the Croatian prime minister which outlined the process for obtaining approval for the F-16.

Shortly after Kohorst said that the statement he had given to the N1 commercial broadcaster about the failed deal between Israel and Croatia about fighter jets' purchase had been misinterpreted, and insisted that the Croatian government should not be blamed for the failure.

Kohorst thus reacted to some media interpretations of his statement that the Croatian government was aware of the procedure for obtaining approval for the purchase of US-made F-16 aircraft from Israel. "Counter to what some press have reported, the United States did not at any time advise the Croatian government not to purchase the Israeli F-16s," Kohorst said in his statement.

Plenković later said he had not seen the document and that this "was the exchange of technical papers at the level of the US Embassy and a representative of the Croatian authorities."

He underscored that the jets were only one of the topics discussed at the meeting, underscoring that Israel's offer with regard the quality and the price of the planes was very good. He reiterated that Israel had assumed responsibility for obtaining approval from the Americans.

More news on the defence issues can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 28, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Sunday dismissed media speculation that by replacing her home affairs advisor Mate Radeljić she has agreed a 'non-aggression pact' with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, noting that she would continue to warn of problems in the Croatian society as it was one of her duties as the president.

"I did not enter a pact with anyone, I will continue to warn of problems that exist in our society. It is my duty to be a corrective to the current situation... and care about the well-being of all Croatian citizens, regardless of my personal views and preferences, and I consider myself a modern conservative," the president said in an interview with the N1 broadcaster.

Asked to comment on accusations from right-wing media outlets that she has agreed a 'non-aggression pact' with Prime Minister Plenković and was no longer on the right side of the political spectrum, the president said: "The president can actually not afford the luxury of being on one side of the political spectrum or the other, they must exclusively protect state interests and the interests of all Croatian citizens."

Asked if she had announced to the prime minister that she would run for another term in office, Grabar-Kitarović said: "I cannot say that I have made such an announcement but I can say that we have discussed it."

Asked about the fact that in the current parliament, practically one-third of members had crossed the floor to join other parties or other parliamentary groups, she said that voters would eventually decide about it. "I call on them to do so because it is their democratic right to show what they think about it and whether such transfers are legal or not."

She added that floor-crossing had to be motivated by "the general well-being and not one's own career or survival on the political scene."

Speaking about Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava's posting on the town’s web site video footage of children from Vukovar who did not stand up for the national anthem at a local football match, Grabar-Kitarović said that one did not have to love their country but that its institutions and symbols had to be respected.

"On the other hand, when children are concerned, we absolutely must not manipulate them. They are, of course, an indicator of adults' way of thinking, but we should all ask ourselves about such phenomena, why they happen and how as a society we should respond to them. Evidently through education, discussion, inclusiveness and understanding of the problem," she said.

She warned that apart from depopulation and problems which other parts of the country were also faced with, Vukovar "still has unhealed war wounds".

"Issues from the past - prosecution of war crimes and other war-related issues - must be solved but one should also turn to the future, create jobs and bring investors to Vukovar," said the president.

More news on the Croatian president can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 25, 2019 - On the first day of the World Economic Forum meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković had a number of meetings with executives of global companies operating or interested in operating in Croatia.

Among them were the CEOs of DAMAC Group, Hoffmann-La Roche, Antofagasta Minerals and Marriott International, the vice-president of Coca-Cola, Google's president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the vice-president of Mastercard.

"At a forum like this, many global companies seek contact with leaders to see how they can help their companies to establish a presence in their country," Plenković told Croatian reporters.

He said that Google had shown interest in digitisation in Croatia, Coca-Cola wanted to make its contribution to social responsibility and Mastercard was interested in financial services. He said that the Marriott hotel chain was interested in establishing a presence in Croatia.

Plenković in particular singled out the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche, which has made it possible for 12 Croatian citizens suffering from spinal muscular atrophy to receive free treatment in Croatia during the clinical testing of its drug. "This was the result of last year's Davos, and now we are expanding the cooperation with them," he added.

Asked if last year's meetings with business executives in Davos had been productive, Plenković cited the example of Booking.com, saying that "it is doing an excellent job helping the Croatian tourist industry."

Talks with the Lukšić Group were also excellent last year. In addition to their presence in the tourism sector, they have also provided an excellent training programme for civil servants and the digitisation of public services, with emphasis on the healthcare system, he said.

On Thursday evening, the Croatian prime minister was due to meet with the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria, and for the first time with the leader of the German CDU party and possible future Chancellor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Plenković recalled that last year in Davos he had a number of meetings with prime ministers, adding that this year he wanted to hear first-hand what the Irish prime minister thought of Brexit.

The World Economic Forum has brought together political and business leaders from more than 100 countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. However, the leaders of the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China are not among the 3,000 participants.

More news on the Croatian politics can be found in our special section.

ZAGREB, January 24, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday arrived in the Swiss ski resort of Davos to take part in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which brought together political and business leaders as well as representatives of global and civil society organisations who will focus on resolving the current global challenges.

On the first day of the two-day annual meeting, Plenković will take part in two debates. The first one, called Globalisation 4.0, is an informal gathering of the world business leaders, with WEF president Borge Brende as the moderator. The second discussion is entitled The new impetus for Europe.

On Thursday, Plenković is also expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings with global business leaders, a meeting with the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Jose Angel Gurria Trevino and CDU leader and possible future German Chancellor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

On Friday, Plenković will take part in a panel debate on creating a stronger partnership for growth and peace in the Western Balkans. He will also hold talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime Minister Denis Zvizdić.

About 3,000 business, government and civil society figures have gathered in the snow-blanketed ski resort.

US President Donald Trump pulled out of this year’s event as he grapples with a partial US government shutdown.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron are also skipping the meeting as Macon seeks to respond to the “yellow vest” protests, while May battles to find a consensus on Brexit. The event will also not be attended by the presidents of Russia and China.

More news on Croatian prime minister can be found in the Politics section